The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the exciting news that writers Bret Calvert, Seth Harrington and Rosemarie DiSalvo have been nominated for the "Quiz and Audience Participation" award in the 2020 Writers Guild Awards for their work on Nickelodeon's Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader revival! The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, news, radio, and promotional categories.
Hosted by WWE superstar John Cena, who also serves as executive producer, Nickelodeon's reimagined iconic family game show follows the original premise of kids helping adult contestants put their knowledge to the test with questions taken directly from an elementary school curriculum.
Joining Cena this season is a rotating cast of 12 brainy fifth graders: Amira from Orlando, Fla.; Chloe from Queens, N.Y.; Colin from Dallas; Cooper from Porter Ranch, Calif.; Isabella from St. Cloud, Fla.; Jamir from Atlanta; Mia from New Orleans; Nick from Broomall, Pa.; Patrick from Lehigh Valley, Pa.; Quinne from Los Angeles; Saya from Peachtree City, Ga.; and Tristan from Aurora, Ill.
In an all-new format that places kids in the center of the action, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader contestants must revisit the classroom to answer six questions on a variety of subjects from the first through fourth grade, before moving on to the final round where they must race against the clock to answer five questions taken from the fifth grade. Each time the contestants answer questions correctly, their bank increases with a possible winning of $100,000. Newly-added elements to the show include an additional “cheat” option and new ways contestants can enlist the help of their grade-school classmates.
Nickelodeon's reimagined iconic family game show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader made its debut on Nick in the U.S. on Monday, June 10, at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT), where it became a instant ratings hit, with more than one million total viewers tuning in for its debut. The series also handily won the day with kids, ranking as the number-one program on cable with Kids 2-11 (2.3/540K, +21% vs prior 4 weeks) and Kids 6-11 (2.3/343K, +10%). Additionally, the broad appeal of the series landed the premiere in the top spot for co-viewing on ad-supported TV for the day, and posted double-digit year-over-year and prior 4 weeks gains with Adults 18-49 (+33%).
Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader is part of the programming strategy of new Nickelodeon president Brian Robbins for a content slate, which focuses on co-viewing among kids and parents. Also falling in that category are musical reality series America's Most Musical Family, All That, Nick’s new sketch-comedy series revival, and upcoming new British family game show The Crystal Maze, premiering Friday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m. on Nickelodeon USA.
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader is executive produced by Mark Burnett, Chairman of Worldwide Television, MGM (Survivor, The Voice) and Barry Poznick, President, Unscripted Television, MGM (Beat Shazam, The World's Best). Production of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader for Nickelodeon is overseen by Rob Bagshaw, Executive Vice President, Unscripted Content.
Bret Calvert serves as Head Writer on the series, along with writers Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo.
The Writers Guild of America will announce the winners of the coveted 72nd annual WGA Awards on Saturday, February 1st, at dual ceremonies to be held in Los Angeles and New York. A full list of 2020 Writers Guild Awards nominees can be found at https://awards.wga.org.
A huge congratulations and good luck to Bret Calvert, Seth Harrington, Rosemarie DiSalvo and Nickelodeon!
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Originally published: Thursday, January 16, 2020.
H/T: Below the Line.
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